Manchester City under pressure following Financial Fair Play charges

The Premier League has accused Manchester City of breaching financial regulations after a four-year investigation. The former league champions are now walking a thin rope, facing the possibility of hefty fines and point deductions.

The investigation conducted by an independent commission under the Premiership’s jurisdiction has analyzed over a dozen allegations linking the club to financial rule-breaking between 2009 and 2018.

The club was purchased back in 2008 by Sheikh Mansour, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family. Since then, the club has claimed six Premiership titles while spending a jaw-dropping $2.2bn on players since the takeover.

Ever since the 2008 takeover, Manchester City has signed major players like Jack Grealish ($120mn), Kevin De Bruyne ($81mn), Ruben Dias ($73mn), Riyad Mahrez ($73mn), Joao Cancelo ($69.4mn) and most recently Erling Haaland (61mn).

Manchester City’s head coach Pep Guardiola doesn’t fall short in the payroll either, earning a total of $21,500,000 a year. According to Deloitte consultancy, Man City cashed in $876mn during 2022. However, with recent Financial Fair Play scandals surrounding the club, how much of the revenue is legitimate under the eyes of UEFA?

According to the Premier League, the local Manchester team allegedly broke FFP rules over nine seasons. Manchester City failed to provide accurate financial information regarding overall club revenue. 

A series of investigative articles released by ‘The Athletic’ shine a light on Manchester City’s unlimited spending power, and how the club was particularly worried about “blending in” their financial losses during 2012-2016 in fear of Financial Fair Play retaliation.

Manchester City failed to fully disclose the financial remunerations linked to one of their managers during a four-year contract. Roberto Mancini’s managerial costs were excluded from the club's expenses.

Furthermore, investigative reports from ‘Football Leaks’ revealed that the Italian coach was under contract as a sporting consultant for Al Jazeera, while simultaneously coaching Manchester City. This dual contract splits Mancini’s coaching salary in half, receiving an extra $2mn on top of his $1.7mn head coach salary.

Similar financial patterns were observed when analyzing player agent fees and imaging rights. Such lack of transparency suggests the club was handling contracts illegally, failing to comply with UEFA regulations.

The ‘Citizens’ club has been under investigation by UEFA before. In February 2020, Manchester City was banned by UEFA from European competitions for two years alongside a $32mn fine.

Later on, the ban was overturned and the fine was reduced to $12mn as the panel found most of the FFP breaches happened too long ago for UEFA to take any serious action.

These astronomical figures reflect the current gap in the world of European football. Manchester City’s financial dominance over other European clubs was unchallenged by UEFA until now.

UEFA is attentively overlooking the Premier Leagues investigations, following the recent Financial Fair Play scandals in Serie A. UEFA alongside the Italian Football Federation, sanctioned Juventus FC due to financial irregularities. If deemed guilty, justice should be served.

Following the investigation, the commission will have the power to impose a series of sanctions if Manchester City is found guilty. The sanctions may vary from point deductions, match suspension, refusal of player registration, financial restitutions, and a ban from European competitions.

The current investigation has been going on for four years, is very unlikely any sanctions will be applied to this current season.

The Premier League rules state that proceedings before an independent commission will be confidential and held in private.

UEFA’s Financial Fair Play crackdown has startled many European clubs, fearing similar sanctions as Juventus FC. Chelsea FC is another club in the Premiership under fire by FFP regulations.

In terms of club expenditure, Chelsea FC leads the rankings in the Premiership with an impressive $600mn spent on new signings.

The ‘Blues’ have been able to navigate FFP regulations so far by offering their new signings prolonged contract deals, sometimes up to 8-year deals!

The English club released a public statement claiming they welcome the review of this matter by an independent commission "to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position". Nevertheless, Manchester City is currently failing to assist in the investigation – only time will tell how this situation plays out.